9 Great Beers That Won't Get You (Too) Drunk

As the craft-beer movement continues to win the hearts and taste buds of American drinkers, brewers keep coming up with new ways to keep us interested: aging beers in boozy bourbon barrels, stuffing them inside roadkill, or releasing a bottle with a ridiculously high alcohol level to claim the title of strongest beer in the world, at least for a while. And as time has gone on, the average alcohol content of what we drink has shot up, so that finding a beer as strong as a bottle of wine has become fairly routine. Which, you know, can lead to some unintended consequences.

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Enter the "session" beers: Simply put, they have enough flavor so that you'll want to have several in one drinking session (hence the name) but not so much alcohol that you'll be toasted after just a couple. It's the way British pub patrons have whiled away their afternoons for generations, and we could learn a thing or two from their wisdom. Here are nine of the most flavorful craft beers out there right now, all of which have less alcohol than a can of Budweiser — that is to say, about 4.5% or a little lower. (Golf course and beach bonus: The first four come in cans.)

Evan S. Benn is the beer columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His Hip Hops column, blog, and beer app can be found at stltoday.com/hiphops, and you can buy his new book here. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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